Lawrence’s Regal movie theater closing ‘until further notice’ amid pandemic delays

photo by: Chad Lawhorn

Regal Cinema Southwind Stadium theater, 3433 Iowa St.

Lawrence’s largest movie theater, The Regal Southwind, will close at the end of the day Thursday with no estimated reopening date amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Regal Cinemas announced Monday that it is temporarily suspending operations at all of its 536 theaters nationwide, “in response to an increasingly challenging theatrical landscape and sustained key market closures.”

The Regal Southwind, located at 3433 Iowa St., closed at the beginning of the pandemic but had since reopened. Now, the theater will close once more, with operations suspended “until further notice,” according to Regal Cinemas’ website.

The decision from Regal Cinemas followed the announced delay of yet another highly anticipated 2020 theatrical release — the new James Bond film “No Time to Die.” The continued delays have been blamed on a combination of audience reluctance to return to theaters and the effects of big markets like New York and Los Angeles remaining closed, according to reports from the Associated Press.

Last week, leading groups representing movie theaters, movie studios and directors issued a dire plea to Congress for financial help for cinemas, the AP has reported. The groups said nearly 70% of small and mid-size theaters could face bankruptcy or closure without assistance.

COMMENTS

Welcome to the new LJWorld.com. Our old commenting system has been replaced with Facebook Comments. There is no longer a separate username and password login step. If you are already signed into Facebook within your browser, you will be able to comment. If you do not have a Facebook account and do not wish to create one, you will not be able to comment on stories.